Unlikely Conspirators
by MSquared79
Summary: Two men, very different, with a common goal. Will their plan work and unite their families, or will their meddling only alienate them further from their children?
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: This is very AU. Basically, take Eli David's assassination out of season 10. The team still resigned, Ziva still returned to Israel and was attacked by the Brotherhood of Doubt, which means Tony did still go searching for her. And found her. And they still made their "connection". So, start after that._

Eli David had to admit, retirement was not such a bad thing. It was a rare state a Mossad director usually found himself in, but there was a bit of an optimist in him and he planned just in case the opportunity should arise.

Over the years, he had set up a network of locations in Europe for him to escape if need be. A flat in Amsterdam, a villa in Tuscany and a home in Monte Carlo, even though he had no taste for gambling. And he still did return to Israel. He would never permanently leave his homeland.

He had seen the necessity of going back after Orli had informed him of the attack on the home Ziva was staying at. He was reassured that she was safe, although her whereabouts were unknown for some time. He had sent his people, loyal to him from Mossad, to look for her, but they were largely unsuccessful. He was well aware that when Ziva didn't want to be found, she would not be.

Then an old family friend contacted him, told him that Ziva had been seen at the olive grove, as well as a young man. Eli asked for a description of the man, and sighed heavily when figured out who it was. Then he was told a few weeks later that Ziva was alone again. It was then that he made arrangements to go to her.

By the time he arrived, she was unwell. Withdrawn, sleepy and constantly nauseous, it had alarmed him at first. Then he realized what was wrong with her.

It was an afternoon after she had clung to the toilet that he decided to speak to her. "Does he know?" Eli asked.

Ziva turned to him, eyes narrowed, trying to playing dumb. It was not something any of his children had ever had an ability to do. "Does who know what?"

"Ziva, do not deny this to me. I know he was here with you! I may be retired, but I am not without my sources," he scolded.

Ziva bit her lip. "No," she said at last.

"You must go, tell him." It was a demand, but said as softly as possible.

Ziva shook her head. "No. We made a clean break. He understood my reasons for staying. I can't ask him to give up the things he loves."

"Even when one of those things is you?" It was a mere whisper, but one loud enough to hear.

It was a mirthless laugh that followed. "You want him to know? _Abba,_ I know you have no taste for him. You have made it clear a number of times."

"He has a right to know," was all he replied.

She shook her head again, more vigorously this time. "No, let him live his life." When he began to protest again, she pointed at him, a dangerous expression on her face. "Swear on Tali's grave, you will not tell him."

Eli sighed, trying to merely nod an oath. Her face got stormier and he said at last, "On Tali's grave, I will not tell him."

Things got icy between the two of them after that. She knew he disapproved of keeping the secret, but he was aware how stubborn was could be, a trait she inherited from her mother, for sure. At last, he left for his European boltholes.

It still bothered him, her reticence to tell him. No, he did not have much taste for the man, but he had shown himself to be much more than his profile said he was. He had said as much to Leon when the NCIS director had called him to tell Eli Ziva had been rescued. He had hoped they would be able to. He had not so much left her to die, but Mossad could only operate so much without rousing the suspicions of Israel's enemies. The Americans had a wider latitude to act within.

Eli had told Leon to express his gratitude to Special Agent Gibbs, but had been shocked by Leon's response. "It's Agent DiNozzo who you should be thanking, sir. He was the force behind all of it. Even went up against me when I was making it look like my hands were tied."

"DiNozzo?" The name came out with more disgust than he had wanted.

He could see, in his mind's eye, the smirk Leon had to have had on his face as he continued. "He never believed that she was dead. Even if she was, he felt a duty to her memory to take out the son-of-bitch, which we did. And he set up the attack as well. Made sure he was in position to lead the SEALS right to the camp. And he did it, according to Agent McGee, in his typical style."

Eli translated that as him being a smartass, but it seemed to have worked. He thought on that again. He had told Ziva when she was younger that one day, she would dance with a man who deserved her. The former director of Mossad was as shocked at anything to think that that man would be Anthony DiNozzo.

Eli had sworn on his daughter's grave he would not tell DiNozzo about the pregnancy. But, he had left himself leeway in his vow to use other ways of letting the man know. It was after dinner and he was in his flat in Amsterdam, when he had called Liat before him. She and Malachi had left Mossad with him and now acted as his personal bodyguards, with Liat also giving off the appearance of being a personal assistant as well. When the young woman stood before him, he ordered, "Find me this man." He tossed a picture at her and she looked up at Eli with curiosity. But he didn't need to say anymore. She went about to locate him.

He was, rather conveniently, in Monte Carlo. The winter was just beginning and Eli's arthritis was acting up, so a trip to the South of France was a welcome respite. Using old friends Eli could count on in the DGSI, Eli was given his location as the Le Meridien. If his information was correct, it was a little out of the man's price range, but it was not Eli's place to question.

He sent Liat and Malachi to stake out the hotel and one night, they spotted their target going into the bar. Eli came immediately and found where his operatives were.

"He has been in there for about fifteen minutes. Has not moved from his table," Liat reported in Hebrew. Then, she raised her eyebrow, a hint of a smile on her face. "I can see where Tony's gets his good looks."

Eli threw a glare at her, but approached the table wordlessly, the two hanging back.

"May I join you?" he asked the seated man, who turned to him, a hint of recognition on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

Anthony DiNozzo, Senior did not know the voice and did not remember the face, but the accent was very familiar to him. He had heard a similar one for the last few years when he visited his son in Washington, DC.

The man who spoke to him was distinguished looking, in a dark suit with an open collar shirt. He thought there was something in the man's face that he had seen before, but couldn't put his finger on it. All the same, Anthony gestured to the leather chair across from him.

"What are you drinking?" he was asked.

"Macallan 18, three fingers," DiNozzo replied. A waiter came over and the stranger ordered the same, and another glass for him. There was a way that the man moved that Anthony also thought he saw, graceful, but with a force to it that bespoke a predator ready to pounce on its prey.

The drinks arriving, his guest raised the glass in toast. "To...new friends," he said, mysteriously.

Both sipped the single malt and finally, DiNozzo asked his question. "Not that I am one to refuse a glass of this fine scotch, but do I get to know the name of the man who has bought it for me?"

The man opposite him dipped his head and extended his hand. After grasping Anthony's, he said, "Eli David."

Now it was starting to make sense. "You don't by chance have a daughter who is an NCIS agent in DC, do you?"

"Former NCIS agent, but yes. I believe you know her," Eli replied.

"She has graced my presence a number of times, even my arm. A beautiful woman, your Ziva is," Anthony Senior said.

"She takes after her mother, but thank you." He took another sip, looking like he was working up to something. "And your son is a...remarkable young man. A cunning and bravery I had not expected."

Anthony saw the slightly left-handed compliment but let it slide. "The bravery is gifted from his mother, but the cunning, well, I've been called worse." Now he took a sip. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of the company of a man such as yourself?" When Eli raised his eyes to look at Anthony directly, it seemed to be taken as a challenge.

"I have heard from my daughter about you. It is just a happy accident that we should find ourselves in the same city at the same time," Eli said, never dropping his calm demeanour.

Bullshit. "Since we seem to have met each other's children, I can take it to mean we have also both met their boss, correct?" A nod of acknowledgement. "Has Ziva told you about the rules of Leroy Jethro Gibbs?"

"In passing, they have come up," Eli answered.

"Junior has gone on about them for a while now. He seems to have had them drilled into his head," Anthony began to explain. "One of them, I believe it's number thirty-nine, is 'there is no such thing as a coincidence'."

Understanding came to the hard stare. "He is a wise man, if not a pain in the ass most of the time," came the response.

"I doubt, Mr. David, that we have much in common," Anthony mused, "but from the stories I have been told, we are not much different in his estimation."

"No, in that I think we are not." Then Eli looked away, a look of shame on his face.

Anthony put his glass on the table and returned the glare he had been seeing for the last few minutes. "I am a businessman, and despite what any dossier you may have on me says, I am a straight-shooter. So, cards on the table."

Eli put his drink down as well and returned the stare. "I am, you can say, in the information business. As such, I must gauge what information can be released and to whom. I must take a measure of the man I am giving that power of knowledge to. So, know this. You have raised a most...honorable...son." Then he sat back. "That is why I have sought you out."

Anthony didn't know how to respond. After a minute, a terrible truth was all he could say. "Sadly, that didn't come from any influence on my part. My wife, his mother, died when he was only eight and I couldn't deal with it all. I sent him to numerous boarding schools, hoping to put distance between myself and the pain I felt from her lose when I saw him."

Eli nodded. "As I said, I am in the information business. I knew that. I have not been so good a father either." His face clouded over. "I lost my youngest daughter to the violence of my land and in seeking vengeance for that, I turned my elder one into a killer and my son into a monster." Then, he blinked. "I assure you, we are on equal footing in terms of fatherhood." Then he stood. "Please, what I have to say to you, I think is best said in private."

Anthony DiNozzo heard the concern in the other man. He rose from his seat. "Then, by all means, let us talk."


	3. Chapter 3

Having been safely delivered back to his residence, Eli and Anthony sat in the study, another drink in each of their hands. "Eli, to be honest, you have me worried," his guest said when they were settled.

"I am sorry for that. It is nothing dire, but it is about our children," he replied. "I think we both have another thing in common. We both raised stubborn children."

"Now, whatever would give you that idea?" he joked, trying to alleviate the tension growing in the room.

"Have you heard from your son recently, Anthony?"

"We haven't talked in awhile," he said before pausing, "but I received a rather terse email from him saying Ziva had left the agency and America." Then he sighed. "It did concern me, actually. He sounded depressed, angry, tired. Not himself at all. If you know my son, happy-go-lucky is the best way to describe him."

"I do know your son. We have...crossed paths before under not the best of circumstances," Eli told him. He saw the look of concern in Anthony's eyes. "He killed an agent of mine, in self defense, but I did not think it possible. Who was he, a jock who made a joke out of everything, a ladies' man who moved from one woman to another without a taking a breath? Up against one of the finest agents I trained, I am sorry, but it should have been your son in the grave."

"Another family trait. Word of advice, never underestimate a DiNizzo," Anthony commented with a smile.

Eli tipped his head, a sign of agreement. "My daughter has had many trials for the last few years. She had come away, I believed, stronger from them, but they have taken their toll, weighed her down more until she could not bare it. So, she abandoned her career which had redefined her, her adopted homeland where she wanted to make her life away from all the pain. She returned to Israel, against all logic. She now is there, trying to repent for the sins she believes she has committed." Eli had to cover his mouth, brush his fingers over his eyes, to stop the emotions he was feeling from surfacing. "She was in danger not long ago and for a time, we did not know where she was. But it was your son who found her at last. And not for the first time."

"Tony is tenacious when he wants to be," DiNozzo said with great pride, "and I have never seen him more than he has been about Ziva."

"I know of this tenacity. It is the reason my daughter is alive."

Anthony seemed to know of what he spoke of. "Junior never went into it much, but it sounded like he put himself at risk for Ziva."

"He saved her life." Eli thought this father should know the whole story. "Ziva stayed in Israel after Tony killed my operative and I assigned her to the man's team on a mission in Africa. She was...captured and it was believed that she died in the service of her country. When her colleagues, her family, at NCIS learned this, they sought vengeance. A mission was put together to track down the terrorist responsible." Eli looked directly at Anthony. "Your son allowed himself to be captured and tortured so the target could be located. He was drugged with truth serum and questioned for hours about the whereabouts of the remainder of his team. And do you know what your son told him?"

"This isn't classified, is it?"

Eli smiled. "A parent has the right to know, the right to be proud of that child's actions," he whispered, as if sharing a secret. "He told this terrorist about his team, about Gibbs, about McGee, about Dr. Mallard, Abigail Sciuto, Leon Vance, about how all of them worked together to be at that place. The man became enraged, brought out a hostage he had, threatened to kill her."

"Ziva."

"Yes," Eli confirmed. "Then your son, he said, he was the wildcard, the one who looks at the situation, grim, hopeless and refuses to accept it." Eli sat back, seeing he had the other father's complete attention. "Then he told the man he had thirty seconds to live, that Gibbs was a sniper."

"I'm guessing this was the point where the bullet endeth the story?" DiNozzo Senior questioned wryly. "So, that's when it was, when he truly fell in love with her."

Eli stood. He was almost unwilling to go on, but he had come this far with Tony's father. There was no backtracking. "He was with her for some time at one of the family residences in Israel. Neighbors saw them together, in the olive groves on the land." Then he took a deep breath. "Ziva eventually sent him away."

"I gathered from what little he wrote is was an...unwanted parting."

Eli nodded. "I went to see my Ziva, to see how she was coping after the latest...incidents. She was...not well."

Anthony Senior jumped up, concern lacing his features. "Tony was shot at through the windows of his apartment. Was Ziva…?"

"No, in that way, she was fine," Eli assured him, with gratitude for the other man's concern for his daughter. It helped him continue with his story. "No, the illness...it was another." After that, he could not go on.

He could see Anthony grasping for an idea of what he was talking about. Then it seemed to click. "You don't mean…? I mean, I know Junior cares for her…" Something made him shake his head. "No, more than cares. It's been obvious to me from the moment I met her and saw them together…" Then a smile illuminated his face. "You're not telling me…?"

Eli held out his hand and the other man clasped it with great enthusiasm, so much it brought a tear to the hardened spy's eyes. "We are going to become family, Mr. DiNozzo."

"If that is the case," Tony's father said, "please, call me Anthony, Eli."


	4. Chapter 4

Anthony DiNozzo Senior had not felt this happy since the day his son was born. He still couldn't believe what he was being told. Nothing could bring him down.

"There is a problem, however," Eli interrupted his quiet celebration. "Remember, I said we have very stubborn children."

That set him back. "What do you mean?"

"My daughter, as I said, feels she must pay a price for the crimes she believes she has committed. Among them…" The other man's voice grew with emotion. "Among them was the death of her brother." Before he could ask, Eli continued. "For some reason, she has decided not to tell your son. Let me be clear, I do not agree with her decision. I have tried to reason with her, tried to tell her Tony has a right to know. But she does not listen to me much anymore."

"Then talk to Junior. I'm sure he wants to know and if it came from you…"

"Ziva made me vow on her sister's grave I would not tell him," Eli revealed.

"Well, I can talk to her if you would like. We had a lovely rappaport going whenever I would visit," Anthony offered.

"That will not work, sadly. She would not appreciate learning you know either," Eli disagreed. When Anthony began to question him, Eli raised his hand. "No, we must be more...sneaky...about this."

Anthony smirked at him, a mirror of his son's. "Well, it's a good thing you were a spy. No need for sneakiness in that line of work." Then, he asked, "I presume you have a plan already."

That made the operative laugh finally. "Yes, I do. This is something that must be handled most delicately, lest we alienate either of our children. Ziva must be handled with great gentleness…"

"And if Tony learns this the wrong way, he's liable to explode. His anger is not one to tangle with, as rare as it is," his father agreed. "So, how do you propose we resolve this?"

"I think we may need, at least, one other," Eli admitted reluctantly. "I believe there is one man they would both listen to."

Anthony knew who he spoke of and agreed. "In your estimation, who between us would be on better terms with him? I think he's still upset with me for not reacting to that bombing at the Navy Yard last year. Or being there for Tony's bout with the plague. Or several other missteps I've taken over the last four years."

"You didn't check on your son after Dearing's bombing? I heard about it in Israel and made contact with Ziva while she and Tony were still stuck in the elevator!" Then he shook his head. "But those pale in comparison to the belief I left my daughter for dead in the desert. No, it would be better from you."

Having heard the whole story, Senior had to agree. While still not buddy buddy with Gibbs, he could only imagine the feelings he may have had to Eli David. Not a perfect man, not a perfect father, the emotional damage he had admittedly inflicted on his son was possibly gentler to whatever strife was in the David family. "How far along is Ziva? How much time do we have to make the two of them see that they should be together?"

"Ziva is in her early second trimester, if my guess is correct. But I would still hasten the process along. I cannot think that Tony will take kindly to the thought he may have been purposely shut out from any part of his child's life."

"My son loves her enough he would probably understand, but I don't want to put all my chips there, just to be safe," Senior agreed. "Okay, I am going to need to make flight arrangements for DC, as soon as possible." He reached for his phone.

It was not a surprise when he heard the other man. "If you would like, we can take my jet," Eli said, "for our journey to the United States." Then, he added, "I hear you do not like to fly commercial anyway."

Anthony felt his cheeks redden. He was usually more than willing to accept a free ride on a private jet, but now, it felt kind of tacky. "Are you sure? I don't want to take advantage…"

"As I said, we are about to become family." Then Eli asked, "Will you be calling your son?"

"No, I don't think so. I find it best to catch Junior a little off guard. It's what he usually expects. If I call ahead, he might find it odd and question me about it," Anthony said.

Eli smiled. "You too? I know my daughter does not care for me just showing up, but in my line of work, there were the benefits of being a surprise. It often managed to save lives." Then he called for his pretty young assistant. When she appeared he spoke to her in English. "Liat, have the jet ready for tomorrow morning. It is too late to get underway now."

The woman began to question him in Hebrew, but he interrupted her. "English, please, Liat. We have a guest."

Liat gave him an icy stare. "Is there anyone we should contact ahead of our departure?"

The other man shook his head. "No, but have the house in Ashburn prepared. I think it best we stay there while we are in the States."

Liat left, but Anthony had questions. "Who does she mean by that?"

"I would guess Leon Vance. But I do not wish to make my presence known until it is absolutely needed, or else my old friend will have me sequestered in a safehouse." Then he rose from his chair. "My assistant has had your things brought here from the hotel. There is a guest room at your disposal for the night."

"Thank you. It is most generous," Anthony replied as he moved to go his room.

"One thing before you retire for the night," Eli called after him. He turned to the bar and poured Courvoisier Napoleon into two sniffers. He handed one to Anthony. "A toast to, what I hope, is our success."

"To our grandchild," Anthony replied. " _Cent'Anni."_

" _Lecha'yim_ ," Eli returned as they clinked glasses.


End file.
